Bryoni Govender – the runner-up to the Miss SA crown, and not the winner Natasha Joubert – will represent South Africa at the Miss Universe pageant, as confirmed by the latter.

According to speculation, Natasha is exempt from returning to the international pageant after she entered in 2020. At the time, Natasha had placed in the Top 3 of the Miss SA pageant. She did not place in the Top 21 of Miss Universe.According to an Instagram post on the Miss Universe page, Bryoni Govender has been selected as the woman to represent SA.

Alongside a clip of the crowning of Miss SA, the caption read: “The new Miss SA is Natasha Joubert, and Miss Universe South Africa is Bryoni Govender.”

On her own Instagram account, Bryoni has been posting messages from family, friends, and fans about her participation in the Miss Universe pageant, which takes place on 18 November in Salvador.In May 2021, Natasha Joubert represented SA at the Miss Universe pageant. She did not place in the Top 21.

According to pageant enthusiast and YouTuber Rina Hendriks, Natasha may not enter the international pageant again.

In a video posted on the pageant platform Missology, she said: “The winner goes to Miss Universe. The first runner-up, you go to this. The second runner-up, you go to that. I respect the work in the past 20 to 30 years. I admire what you have done, but this is the principle of the company and the organization”.